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The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has proposed replacing the current ASC Rule 72-501 with a new ASC Rule 72-501 (Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule is intended to reduce regulatory impediments and facilitate offerings by Alberta issuers to investors outside of Alberta by removing the potentially duplicative application of Alberta prospectus requirements where an offering materially complies with the securities laws of the foreign jurisdiction. The ASC has historically taken the position that a distribution by…

On March 7, 2017, 1891868 Alberta Ltd., a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Sprott Inc. (Sprott, and together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Sprott Group), filed an originating application (Application) in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Court) for an order approving a proposed plan of arrangement (Arrangement) with Central Fund of Canada Limited (Target), Sprott Physical Gold and Silver Trust (to be formed and managed by Sprott Asset Management LP (Trust)), the holders of class…

Economic Environment
The volume of securities purchased by foreign investors in Canada has been steadily increasing in recent years. While equity securities account for the majority of the increase, debt securities still comprise most of the foreign investment in Canada.[1] Of these debt securities, corporate bonds attracted the largest increase in investment in 2016 compared to 2015.[2] The continued significance for Canadian issuers (Issuers) of foreign markets for raising capital emphasizes…

Background
On November 23, 2016, Total Energy Services Inc. (Offeror) disclosed its intention to make an offer (Offer) to purchase all of the issued and outstanding common shares (Target Shares) of Savanna Energy Services Corp. (Target) for consideration consisting of common shares of the Offeror (Offeror Shares).
The Target responded in two press releases, dated November 24, 2016 and November 28, 2016, in which the Target indicated that any change of control on or before…

Disclosure requirements regarding the representation of women on boards and in senior management adopted in Alberta
The Adoption
On December 15, 2016 the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) adopted amendments to National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices (NI 58-101) and Form 58-101F1 Corporate Governance Disclosure (together with NI 58-101, Amendments). The Amendments will come into effect in Alberta as of December 31, 2016.
The Amendments were previously implemented in every jurisdiction in Canada other…

Retail investors in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick (Participating Jurisdictions) now have a new option by which they can participate in private placements. The securities regulators in the Participating Jurisdictions have adopted a prospectus exemption (Exemption) that allows issuers listed on a Canadian exchange to raise money by distributing securities to retail investors, subject to certain conditions, including that the investor has received suitability advice about the investment from a registered dealer.…

Earlier this week, Suncor Energy Inc. (Suncor) and Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS) announced that they reached an agreement whereby COS agreed to support Suncor’s offer to acquire COS for $6.6 billion (including estimated debt of $2.4 billion), representing a 12% increase in the exchange ratio from the initial offer made by Suncor for COS in early October 2015. Initially, the COS board of directors adamantly opposed the hostile bid. However, after several bid extensions…

Most of the recent headlines concerning the unsolicited takeover bid by Suncor Energy Inc. (Suncor) for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (COS) surround the decision of the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) to allow COS’s tactical shareholder rights plan to remain in place until January 4, 2016. While that decision is noteworthy on its own, what may be lost in the discussion is that the COS board has additional time to use its recommendation as a bargaining…

On October 19 2015, the Alberta Securities Commission and the Nunavut Securities Office jointly published for comment Proposed Multilateral Instrument 45-109 Prospectus Exemption for Start-up Businesses (Proposed Exemption). The Proposed Exemption is directed principally at small and early-stage non-reporting issuers and is designed to allow them to raise a defined amount of money in a cost effective manner while still providing appropriate investor protection. The Proposed Exemption is intended to eliminate certain costs arising from…